M2S News Radar
MacroScope Strategies (M2S)
Navigating the New World of Government Affairs
Trade & Investment
Currency swap: China and the UAE renewed their local currency swap agreement for a period of five years. The agreement bears a nominal value of 18 billion dirhams ($4.9 billion) and aims to enhance liquidity in local currency into the financial markets.
Island Project: Local developer Wasl has awarded an estimated $1.2bn contract to build an Island project in Dubai?to China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The Island project is located on a 10.5 hectare island, off the coast of Umm Suqeim.
AD Ports-Kazakhstan: AD Ports Group has announced a collaboration with Kazakh national shipping company Kazmortransflot to acquire two oil tankers for the transportation of Kazakh oil. The vessels will function as shuttle tankers along the Caspian Sea route.
UK Nuclear Power: Mubadala has reportedly been approached to take a stake in the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk. The UK government is searching for new investors in the project after removing the Chinese state-owned CGN last year due to security concerns.
JP Morgan-Abu Dhabi: JPMorgan?said it is expanding its payments and corporate banking businesses in Abu Dhabi, after the Financial Services Regulatory Authority granted in-principle approval to JPMorgan to upgrade its license to category one.
IOTA-ADGM: Technology network IOTA launched a $100-million foundation in Abu Dhabi to accelerate the growth of its distributed ledger technology in the Middle East, aiming at helping convert real-world assets into digital ones.
ADIA-PCCW: Bloomberg reports that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority?is considering bidding for a stake in Hong-Kong based ICT company?PCCW Ltd.’s fiber business. Discussion for a significant minority stake for about $1 billion are said to be ongoing.
UAE-Turkey: According to Bloomberg, Turkey is nearing its inaugural bond sale to ADQ as Turkish policymakers are trying to regain foreign investor confidence after years of mistrust. The government will likely offer 10-year bonds in tranches to ADQ.
Environment & Energy
Loss and Damage: During the first day of COP28 in Dubai, delegates agreed on the operationalization of a fund to help compensate vulnerable countries coping with loss and damage caused by climate change. The UAE and Germany both pledged $100 million to the fund.
Climate Investment Fund: The Financial Times reports that the UAE is preparing the launch of a $30 billion climate-related investment fund with BlackRock, TPG and Brookfield. Abu Dhabi-based Lunate Capital will oversee the fund with at least $5bn earmarked for investment in Global South countries.
Carbon Capture: The UAE is expected to start pumping CO2 into rocks, using technology developed by an Omani start-up. At the Fujairah-based solar-powered plant, carbon dioxide will be sucked from the air, dissolved in seawater and injected deep underground.
Oil and Gas: The BBC and other news outlets alleged that the UAE planned to discuss oil, natural gas and other commercial deals in meetings linked to the UN climate talks. The UAE rejected these accusations and suggested that this was ‘fake news’.
Opec+ cuts: Opec+ members have agreed on additional voluntary cuts to oil production in 2024. The UAE said it will cut production by 163,000 b/d in the first quarter. In an unusual step, Opec officials said additional cuts would be announced by individual members.
Hydrogen Mobility: Hyundai Motor Company signed an MoU with BEEAH Group. The parties will forge joint efforts to conduct a trial run with the first hydrogen truck in the UAE, Hyundai’s XCIENT Fuel Cell truck, under real use conditions at BEEAH.
Carbon Credits: The Dubai Financial Market is running a pilot program on carbon credit trading for institutional investors from 4-8 December. The first run will see around 17 UAE companies participate. DEWA and MyCarbon are supplying the carbon credits.
Air Pollution: Abu Dhabi has launched a new air quality?improvement plan to pinpoint pollution hotspots and curb the environmental impact of building development in the emirate. Data gathered will be shared with the public through air-quality forecasts.
EDB-IRENA: The Emirates Development Bank has committed up to $350 million to support the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing platform, a global climate finance facility established by IRENA to accelerate the financing of renewable energy projects.
Tech, Cyber & Space
New AI Company: Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi,?launched the Advanced Technology Research Council’s new AI company, AI71. VentureOne, the Council’s commercialization arm, will take AI71 to market, starting with the medical, educational, and legal sectors.
G42-China: The New York Times runs a story on American spy agencies issuing warnings about G42’s work with large Chinese companies, including Huawei. G42’s CEO hit back saying safeguards are in place to protect the Abu Dhabi firm’s data from prying eyes.
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Foreign Policy & Diplomacy
IMO Candidacy: The UAE is a candidate for the International Maritime Organization (category B membership) for the 2024-2025 term. Council elections are taking place on 1 December, and the UAE has held the two-year membership repeatedly since 2017.
Guyana Embassy: The UAE has confirmed that it will establish an Embassy in Guyana, according to Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali. He also mentioned that Qatar confirmed an Embassy opening, while discussions with Saudi Arabia are ongoing.
Pakistan Visit: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar went on a bilateral visit to the UAE and reportedly signed multi-billion-dollar MoUs relating to energy, port operations projects, waste water treatment, food security, logistics, minerals, and other sectors.?
Biden Calling: US President Joe Biden called with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed?to discuss the COP28 Leadership summit, which will be attended by Vice-President Kamala Harris on Biden’s behalf. The leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East. ?
Iran Calling: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, received a phone call from Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. They exchanged views on regional developments and humanitarian and security repercussions.
Dutch Elections: The UAE and the Arab League condemned statement by Geert Wilders, a far-right politician who won last week’s election in the Netherlands. Wilders suggested that Palestinians should be relocated to Jordan, which is considered interference in Jordan’s internal affairs.
UAE-Mongolia: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed received Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia. They oversaw an exchange of MoUs, including on visa exemptions, on a joint committee at Ministry of Foreign Affairs level, as well as think tank and media cooperation.
UAE-KSA: The UAE leadership has congratulated Saudi Arabia on winning the bid to host Expo 2030, stating that “their success is our success, and their hosting of the world in 2030 is a win for us, for our Gulf, and for our region.”
UAE-Cuba: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Diaz-Canel met to discuss investment promotion and protection, preventing double taxation and technical cooperation in various fields.
Defense & Security
Sudan War: According to Reuters, a Sudanese general has said that the UAE is sending supplies to the Rapid Support Forces. Army leaders had previously only hinted at interference from unnamed neighboring countries in the seven-month-old war.
Commemoration Day: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed paid tribute “to the sacrifice and bravery of those who have selflessly given their lives in defense of the UAE”. Since 2015, the UAE observes Commemoration Day every November 30.
Military Exercise: The UAE forces participated in joint military exercises with Kuwaiti Forces. The exercise was overseen by formations from both the ground force and the Peninsula Shield forces.
Miscellaneous
Max Verstappen: Dutch F1 courier Max Verstappen ended a record-breaking season with winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Housing Benefits: A housing benefits package worth Dh7.6 billion has been approved for thousands of Emiratis in Abu Dhabi, in celebration of the 52nd UAE National Day. The package included housing loans of all types, from which 3,714 UAE Nationals have benefitted.
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M2S News Radar – UAE edition - is a curated weekly newsletter that provides a high-level overview of trade, investment, defense, environmental, and foreign policy developments in the UAE, as well as a weekly agenda of upcoming relevant events. All news items are carefully selected by our team of local experts from relevant and reputable original news sources to provide a concise summary of major news items for senior executives interested in the UAE. While we pay utmost attention to fact check all news items, M2S cannot be held liable for the accuracy of third-party reporting.